Geraint Thomas came close to winning the Giro but was defeated by Primoz Roglic in the climbing time trial on the penultimate day. In the Vuelta, he had the intention of seeking a Grand Tour victory this season but seems to be disappointed.
The Welshman from INEOS Grenadiers has had a few falls and also struggled on the early climbs in the competition, which might indicate that he’s currently at a lower level compared to other general classification riders.
However, Thomas didn’t expect those falls. The Vuelta is known in the world of cycling as the least hectic of the three Grand Tours. That seems to be a bit different this year, at least for the INEOS Grenadiers.
Geraint Thomas humorously tweets with the typical British humor that characterizes him. With a sense of irony, he writes: “Come to the Vuelta, they said, it’s the most relaxed Grand Tour.”
Thomas is already more than five minutes behind the leader Lenny Martinez after seven stages. Of course, this is a bit distorted because the young Frenchman took the red jersey in a breakaway, which was initially intended to be handed over by the then leader, Remco Evenepoel. But the Welshman is also three minutes behind the top favorites, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, and company.